What Matters Most

Series introduction

As I approach 52, I find myself looking back more often.

Not because I believe my best years are behind me. I do not. But age gives us a different place from which to see our lives. Things that once seemed urgent begin to lose some of their power. Accomplishments that felt enormous become smaller with distance. Possessions wear out. Recognition fades. Even the problems that once consumed us are often difficult to remember clearly.

But people remain.

I remember who stayed. I remember who listened. I remember who showed me patience when I had not earned it. I remember the people who carried the love of Jesus into my life—not only through what they said, but through the way they treated me.

The world teaches us to measure a life by what we accumulate, accomplish, or control. Scripture teaches us to measure it differently. Our relationship with Jesus Christ is the foundation. From that relationship grows a life that makes room for others, bears their burdens, offers forgiveness, and gives love without demanding repayment.

I wish I had understood earlier how much this matters.

Work matters. Providing for our families matters. Faithfulness to our responsibilities matters. But these good things can become poor masters when they crowd people out. A full calendar can still leave behind an empty life. Success can earn applause without teaching anyone what Jesus is like.

Over these five days, we will ask a better set of questions: Who am I becoming? Who receives my best attention? What do people experience when they encounter me? And is the love of Christ becoming visible through the way I live?

You do not have to wait until you are older to begin living this way. Wisdom does not come automatically with age. It begins when we let God teach us what matters most.